“The stronger people became, the greater the benefit for their brain,” lead author Yorgi Mavros, PhD, an exercise physiologist at the University of Sydney, said in a press release.
As for the significance, researchers argue that the findings have big implications for the 135 million people forecasted to suffer from dementia worldwide by 2050. “The more we can get people doing resistance training like weight lifting, the more likely we are to have a healthier ageing population,” said Mavros. “The key, however, is to make sure you are doing it frequently, at least twice a week, and at a high intensity.”
Meanwhile, clinical professor of neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College Ezriel Kornel, M.D, [who did not partake in the study] told RealSimple.com he agrees there’s much value in the findings for both doctors and patients. “We’ve known for a while that exercise is probably the most significant factor in maintaining brain health—but this study shows a specific exercise that seems to prevent, or even potentially reverse, memory loss.”
According to the AFA, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in people over 65 and represents about 60 percent of all those battling the illness. Though symptoms vary depending on the type of dementia, common warning signs include memory loss, inability to communicate effectively, in addition to personality changes such as depression, hallucinations and delusions.
If you believe that you or a loved one may be developing dementia, visit http://www.alz.org/ for a long list of resources and support services in your area.